


Personal Conversations

by Wombat (Superwombat6)



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Fluff and Humor, M/M, Romantic Fluff, one of those things where the persona is its own entity in the kids' heads, they're so gay even their personas are fed up with them not realizing it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2019-06-06
Packaged: 2020-04-11 23:14:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19119685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Superwombat6/pseuds/Wombat
Summary: The Investigation Team has, over time, gotten used to the constant presence in their heads. Each gets along with their former shadow differently, some more smoothly than others. Of course, their Personas are still the manifestation of their inner thoughts and feelings. When Yu and Yosuke prove to be simply too oblivious for words, Izanagi and Jiraiya decide that enough is enough, and get to work setting their other selves straight.Or, very much not straight, as the case may be.





	Personal Conversations

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt, from my online friend Ren: "Personas represent the true self so: Yosuke and/or Yu figuring out they're gay for each other when their Personas take things into their own hands and start fawning over each other's users."
> 
> Thanks, Ren! This was just too good to pass up.

One thing Yosuke had learned very quickly after gaining his Persona was that his shadow was not _gone_ , not at all. It was there, oh boy was it there, but now tamed, and in a more constructive capacity, and named Jiraiya. Most of the time Jiraiya acted sort of like his conscience, or maybe just like particularly insistent intrusive thoughts, but he was sure to raise a racket and give Yosuke some splitting headaches when he was being stupid… or, really, just whenever the Persona felt like it. It was sort of like dealing with Chie, except instead of kicking him like she did, his Persona found _other_ ways to make him miserable.

On the bright side, though, when they were in sync? Man, it was awesome. Yosuke felt like he could take down anything when both he and Jiraiya were fired up about something, and he could tell it was the same way for the others. The way Chie went from just an unusually enthusiastic kung-fu nut to the straight up _Energizer Bunny_ after awakening Tomoe, the way Yukiko’s will went from steel to _titanium_ under her calm looks. And, of course, they’d all gotten way better at being themselves. He was sure that Tomoe and Konohana Sakuya got on his friends’ cases just as much as Jiraiya got on his.

Yu was still sort of an enigma though. Not that that was surprising, of course; the dude was an outlier in just about everything. But hell, that was part of what Yosuke liked about his partner. _Nothing_ seemed to ruffle the guy. Ever. Yosuke had to admit, he liked being one of the few people who could draw a genuine smile or laugh out of him, even take him by surprise sometimes. Anyway, he had to wonder if all those Personas Yu had all talked to him at once. He thought about asking him sometimes, but for some reason it felt a bit personal to just _ask_ about the others’ Personas. Maybe it was the whole thing about them being shadows originally; Yosuke _definitely_ didn’t want anyone else knowing about his shadow. Of course, Yu hadn’t even had to deal with a shadow to awaken his Persona; Izanagi had just kind of come to him when he was needed. It was sort of weird. But, again, everything about Yu was weird. As always.

_‘Thinking about our Partner again, I see,’_ cooed Jiraiya in the back of Yosuke’s mind. He found himself blushing, but he couldn’t account for _why_.

It’d taken a little practice for Yosuke to learn to reply mentally. Some weird looks from his parents and classmates had cured him of replying verbally to Jiraiya _real_ quick. He’d explained it away as stress and sleep deprivation at the time, which seemed good enough. _‘W-well, yeah. Why wouldn’t I? He’s a really cool dude. Not like I have to tell_ you _that, you’re already me.’_

_‘Took you long enough to figure_ that _bit out, huh? I’m starting to get the sense that that’s a pattern with you; cleverer than any of those losers give you credit for, but soooo slow on the uptake when it comes to yourself.’_

Yosuke furrowed his brow. _‘I… what? Jeez, can’t you just come out and say whatever you want to say instead of just hinting at it? For being me, you’re a real pain in the ass sometimes.’_

A cackle was his reply. _‘Oh my God, that’s rich. Dude, you just called yourself a pain in the ass. That’s_ hilarious _.’_

_‘W-what? I_ so _did not!’_ Yosuke had to suppress an annoyed growl; he was at _work_ , dammit! _‘Sh-shut up! I’m busy!’_

Jiraiya giggled some more but did finally fall silent, retreating instead to being a dull ache at the base of Yosuke’s skull. Uuuugh, what a prick. Yosuke massaged his head, for all the good it would do, and went back to cleaning the glass displays in the freezer section. If he could survive this shift without Teddie bothering him, maybe he could clear this up later. For now, he’d rather just suck it up and deal than keep bickering with his stupid Persona.

\----

His Personas were being pretty quiet today. It helped that it was a Sunday, and that he’d chosen to spend the afternoon fishing, but it was still nice. While Yu was glad for his power, for the special abilities of the Wild Card, it could be a bit of a handful when the Personas he currently held were aspects of his personality that contrasted too much. The constant presence of his true, complete other self helped in such cases. Izanagi was a calming force among the chaos, embodying Yu’s personality in full rather than in fragments, and therefore able to relate to every one of the myriad Personas he manifested.

Most of the time, their presence in his head was essentially represented by bits of emotion and thought drifting around. He’d learned that Izanagi could, in fact, converse with him directly, but it seemed that was an unusual occasion. Usually, they simply coexisted without need for words. When they spoke, it tended to be due to some particularly stressful or chaotic time that Yu needed help with. Between himself and… well, himself, he supposed, he was generally able to sort it through.

He wondered if his tranquil relationship with his Persona had to do with not having to face a shadow of himself. All of his other friends’ Personas had started out as their shadows, beings made of their repressed thoughts and feelings, and had to be fought to a standstill before being accepted. Most of his friends were _still_ working on fully understanding and accepting the feelings that had formed their shadows in the first place, even after finding the strength to face and accept them. Yu could tell that his friends conversed with their Personas pretty often, and not just because most of them had said at least one thing out loud to them shortly after their respective awakenings. He was pretty sure Naoto had too, but unfortunately he wasn’t there for it and the young detective vehemently denied any claims to that effect. The lack of proof was one of the few regrets Yu felt he’d harbor to the end of his days.

Yu leaned back, relaxing his grip on the fishing pole a little. Most of his friends had adjusted pretty well to their Personas, though Kanji had taken a little while to go from being deeply uncomfortable with whatever Take-Mikazuchi was saying in his head to being extremely, aggressively passionate about the cute things he loved so much. Probably the only one who still seemed to consistently struggle with his Persona was his own partner, Yosuke. It seemed odd, given that Yosuke had had his Persona the longest, but knowing how his partner was, it also didn’t surprise Yu all that much. At the end of the day, their Personas were their own selves without the self-imposed filters they’d developed for society’s sake. Given how few filters Yosuke seemed to indulge anyway, somehow him butting heads with Jiraiya was both fully expected and probably entertaining. Yu would love to be able to hear some of those conversations for himself, he had to admit.

_‘You’re thinking about him again, you know. And blushing.’_

Yu was jarred out of his thoughts by Izanagi’s calm voice. It took him a moment to remember to respond mentally. For all that he teased his friends about “talking to themselves,” with how quiet he and Izanagi usually were he had to admit to slipping up once or twice too. _‘What? Blushing? Why would I be--’_

Yu raised a hand to brush against his cheek, and sure enough felt a light heat there. _‘Heh. Probably just thinking about what kinds of silly conversations Yosuke must have with himself. It’s a shame I can’t listen in.’_

Izanagi chuckled quietly. _‘A shame. Yes, indeed, quite a shame.’_

Yu had the feeling his Persona was teasing him about something, but for once he had absolutely no idea what was going on with his other self. _‘I’m afraid you’ll have to be more specific if you want to tell me something. I’m sure you’re well aware of how dense I can be at times.’_

It was his turn to tease, and the light self-deprecation was not lost on his Persona. _‘Touché.’_ Izanagi chuckled again. _‘Our conversations are always so engaging. Perhaps we should do this more often.’_

_‘Maybe so. Still, it seems a little silly to talk when it’s not necessary.’_

_‘How true. Perhaps we will speak again soon.’_

Yu just smiled and hummed quietly in response. He felt a tug on his pole, and perked up as his attention shifted back to the world around him.

\----

Stupid dungeon and its stupid pixels and its stupid glitches. Why were they training _here_ , again?

Oh, right. ‘Cuz Yu said there was some loot in here they needed, and it was good training besides. _Uuuuugh_.

_‘Just can’t say no to that partner of ours, can you?’_

_‘Wow, what a good shut up!’_ Yosuke maturely told his Persona.

_‘That was just sad.’_

_‘I said_ shut up _, now get your butt out here and be useful.’_

The shadow they were fighting-- one of those stupid living tank things-- swiveled its turret toward Yu. Yosuke, about to call Jiraiya’s card forth, changed tactics and instead launched himself toward his partner, urgency moving him even faster than usual. He got there just in time to shove Yu out of the way of the shadow’s powered-up Agidyne. Yosuke took the brunt of the fiery attack and went sprawling, letting out a pained cry. Whatever, he was fine, it was worth it to protect his partner.

Sitting up and coughing lightly as smoke coiled from his singed clothes, Yosuke caught a glimpse of Yu getting back to his feet while Izanagi floated behind him and… was Yu’s Persona staring at Yosuke? Uh, weird.

_‘You done being dramatic?’_ Jiraiya sounded amused, but Yosuke could feel the edge of eager anticipation in his Persona’s voice.

_‘Hah. For now, maybe. You ready to do this?’_ Yosuke shoved himself back to his feet, grinning despite the lingering pain of the attack.

_‘Always. Let’s hit it.’_

\----

Annoyed though he was at his friends’ insistence on getting themselves injured on his behalf, Yu had to admit that he appreciated the gesture. He was doing alright, but he _was_ starting to get a little shaky on his feet. He had to admit, that Agidyne would certainly have put him in a bad spot. He was fine with Teddie focusing on healing himself for now, weak to fire attacks as he was, but he might need to request a full party heal soon.

Lost in thought as he hauled himself back up, Yu felt a mental nudge from Izanagi draw his attention back to his injured partner. The heat in his cheeks was probably just from how close that fire attack had gotten, but he had to admit that his partner looked… pretty cool right now. His injuries only seemed to make him more determined to fight back, and the grin on Yosuke’s face told Yu that Persona and wielder were, for a change, fully in sync.

Seemingly oblivious to what were probably really painful burns, Yosuke executed his usual somersault as he summoned Jiraiya, slicing cleanly through the glowing blue card with a kunai and calling his Persona forth. The two charged side-by-side, and Yu saw a faint aura envelop his partner as he darted past. After that, he could barely keep sight of Yosuke, the Sukukaja spell having enhanced his already incredible speed to _actually_ superhuman levels. The shadow they were fighting was similarly baffled, its attack going wide as it struggled to swivel its turret fast enough to keep up with the small blur. Jiraiya split off to the other side of the shadow, and while Yosuke drew its attention, he swept an arm across the battlefield and a green whirlwind erupted beneath the tank. It reeled from the powerful Garudyne, and Yosuke took the opportunity to disengage from his high-speed circling to leap up on top of the tank and bury his kunai deep into a joint between the metallic plates.

There was a pained grinding sound as Yosuke jumped away. Jiraiya hovered back just a little ways, then… turned toward Yu and flicked a finger-pistol his way? What?

Yu felt Izanagi react even before he could process what was happening. He looked up to see his Persona returning the gesture, with a… a _wink?_

_‘Um… Izanagi?’_

Izanagi didn’t reply, instead looking down at his other and offering another wink. Yu was now very thoroughly confused, though he could feel his cheeks blaze like the Agidyne he’d just narrowly avoided. Hesitantly, he glanced over at Yosuke, who’d taken a knee and seemed to finally be feeling the repercussions of the earlier attack. Their eyes met, and Yu saw that his partner was fully as confused as he was. Well, that was something, at least.

\----

Ugh, oww... okay, yeah, it was definitely still worth it, but _owwww._ Yosuke was trying to decide whether to be more peeved about the pain of his burns or Jiraiya doing… whatever the hell Jiraiya was doing, but honestly it was pretty hard to decide when they were both making themselves _very much known_.

_‘Man, that was stupid. Really damn cool, though.’_

_‘Jiraiya… Do you mind explaining… whatever the hell that was?’_

_‘Nope! You’re just bad at taking hints!’_

_‘Hints--_ What _hints? Jeez, you’re such a nuisance.’_

_‘I know you are, but what am I?’_

Yosuke’s train of thought devolved into a useless series of mental keyboard-mashes. How was it that he and Jiraiya were essentially the same person, but that prick always seemed to win their dumb arguments? It was totally unfair.

He looked up at Yu. He seemed to be fine, at least. _Totally_ worth it. Behind his partner, Yosuke thought he saw Izanagi wink at him. His baffled expression only deepened, and he could see Yu’s face reflecting the same. He probably didn’t want to know what Jiraiya was doing behind him right now.

“Hey, partner…?”

“Yeah, I… I know. I’ll… we’ll talk about this later.”

Wow. Yu actually sounded flustered. That was a first. Yosuke cursed his injuries again as his cheeks felt like they were still burning. Man, fire attacks _sucked_.

\----

_‘...That was extremely cool.’_

Yu had decided to ignore what Izanagi said for the rest of the battle. This behavior struck him as simultaneously out of character for his usually stoic Persona, and... oddly resonant with him. The fact that he couldn’t figure out _why_ the latter was true was distracting him, and being distracted in here led to mistakes. He’d swapped Izanagi out for a Persona that could absorb fire attacks, but that didn’t stop the mental chatter.

_‘Aren’t you usually the one keeping it calm in there?’_ Yu asked, his abundant patience finally beginning to wear thin.

_‘Yes, usually. But we’ve all agreed that you need a nudge in the right direction, as you’re being rather difficult about this.’_

_‘About what?’_

_‘About clinging to societal beliefs, and taking what another says at face value.’_

Yu thought about this for a moment. _‘Okay. I get that there’s something you want me to figure out on my own. But I do not think that now’s the time. I promise I’ll think on this later, okay?’_

His only response was a mild headache. Behind Yosuke, Yu caught a glimpse of Jiraiya wiggling his hips suggestively. Apparently he and Yosuke were having a conversation as well, because shortly after that, the Persona was recalled.

\----

_‘Seriously, Jiraiya, what the hell has gotten into you?’_

_‘It’s not what’s gotten into_ me _, dumbass. It’s what_ hasn’t _gotten into_ you. _’_

_‘I literally have no idea what you’re talking about.’_

_‘That’s a lie whiter than my stylish jumpsuit and you know it. You need to let go of what people think of you already. We’ve been over this.’_

Okay, Jiraiya sounded uncharacteristically serious about this. Yosuke bit his lip, glanced over at Yu, and sighed. _‘Jesus-- okay, if I promise to give this some thought later, will you leave me alone? I literally just got set on fire and there’s more where that came from if we don’t focus here.’_

_‘Yeah, like that’ll happen. But, fine. Be that way.’_ The voice retreated, leaving Yosuke with a dull headache. Really? Now, of all times? What a prick.

\----

The rest of the training session passed mostly uneventfully, though Yu continued to nurse a headache that just wouldn’t go away. Mild though it was, the constant pain was distracting enough that he made a few errors, and as the team’s leader that was unacceptable. The others brushed off his apologies, offering him far more consideration than he felt he deserved.

Yosuke, too, was proving inconsistent enough that Yu finally felt forced to assign him to their back lines. His partner didn’t protest, and in fact seemed quite relieved, but Yu’s headache worsened. He had a feeling that this was a Persona’s way of expressing displeasure with the choices of its other; he didn’t have much experience to draw on here, since he and Izanagi had always gotten along well before, but he could guess based on his friends’ past behavior. This… wasn’t fun.

Eventually, Yu gave the order to retreat. He was tempted to use a Goho-M, just skip straight back to the entrance and go home, but he still wanted to get as much training time in as possible. The murderer _was_ still out there, after all. They’d make their way back through the dungeon normally, but they wouldn’t linger any more than necessary. Training was important, but moreso was the safety of his friends.

His headache still wasn’t going away. _‘Izanagi, why can’t you just tell me what’s wrong?’_

_‘This is something you must discover for yourself. I doubt that my telling you would truly change anything within your heart. Not in the way it needs.’_

Yu frowned, but didn’t press the issue. He needed to focus on the task at hand.

\----

They all gathered back at the Junes food court for their usual post-TV meeting. These were usually pretty cursory affairs, since the whole Investigation Team was inevitably exhausted after an excursion, but they did it anyway.

This time was sort of… awkward. The unusual behavior of Yu and Yosuke’s Personas had not gone unnoticed by the others, and Yosuke _really_ wished Chie would stop playfully elbowing his sore ribs.

_‘I’m gonna find some way to make you pay for this, Jiraiya. You know that, right?’_

_‘You’ll thank me later,’_ replied his Persona in a cheerful sing-song.

_‘Like hell.’_

There was no further reply, only a mild sense of amusement. Yosuke dropped his head to the table and shoved Chie away as she elbowed him again. That earned him a shove in return, which drew an undignified squawk out of him, which he could _not_ abide and meant that he had to again shove her back. His Persona troubles were soon entirely forgotten as the altercation quickly devolved into a childish slapfight.

“Jeez-- guys, come on--! Are you for real with this?!” Kanji grunted irritably as their fight spilled into his area.

Naoto pulled her cap lower with a quiet, long-suffering sigh. “How old are you two?”

“Like you’re... one to-- _ow!_ \-- to talk!” Yosuke snapped back, in between fighting for his life.

Yukiko’s snickering finally devolved into a full-on laughing fit while Naoto grimaced.

“Uh… Senpai, aren’t you gonna stop them…?” Rise asked, leaning away from the mess.

Yu didn’t react until Teddie waved his hand in front of his face. “You in there, Sensei…?”

“Huh? Oh…” Yu seemed to notice the fighting for the first time, though he appeared more amused than anything. “C’mon, guys. This is a public space.”

Yosuke made to disengage, but Chie just _had_ to get one final hit in there. “Hey-- no fair! That’s it--”

Before he could resume the attack, he felt a strong hand grab his collar and haul him backwards. Yosuke’s chair fell over and he let out some distinctly unmanly noises as he struggled. He took some small solace in that Rise was, somewhat more delicately, pulling Chie away as well.

“Fine, fine, let go already!” Chie complained, flailing a little at the arms locked around her armpits. “I’m done, I’m done! C’mon, though, you saw what was going on in there, right? You can’t expect me _not_ to tease him!”

Rise looked unconvinced, but did release her hold on Chie.

“Oh, come on,” whined Yosuke. “Give me a break, already! It’s not like I can control what my dumbass Persona does sometimes. You guys know how that is, right?”

There were exchanged glances around the group, answers ranging from “Yeah, I guess so” to “Hm, not really” to “I’m pretty sure it’s just you, Yosuke.”

Great. Getting ganged up on, as usual. Yosuke flailed at Kanji’s hand with renewed frustration. “Would-- would you let go of me already? _She_ started it, anyway! I just want to go home…”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Just don’t start up again, alright?” Kanji let go of Yosuke’s collar, leaving him to fall into an undignified heap on the ground.

Like this day needed to get worse. Yosuke got up and glanced over at the only fully sympathetic face at the table, then grumbled as his headache started up again with renewed vigor. _‘Not you too, Jiraiya…’_

He shook his head and slipped his headphones up over his ears as he turned to go. “Whatever. I’m headin’ home. See you guys tomorrow.” He waved a hand lazily over his shoulder. Hopefully Jiraiya would at least let him sleep tonight. He’d long since learned that painkillers didn’t work on his stupid, stubborn Persona.

\----

The playful bickering was really just background noise, at this point. Yu was so used to it that he didn’t even register Yosuke and Chie getting physical until he was forcibly drawn away from his thoughts. He couldn’t stop the small smile that formed at the childish spectacle, but he didn’t fail to notice how much more grumpy Yosuke seemed than usual. Something was really bothering his partner, enough that even his routine with Chie didn’t distract him.

Yu didn’t like the idea of his best friend walking home alone in a mood like that.

“I think we should all head home for today,” he said suddenly, standing up. “It’s been a long day. Sorry I’ve been so distracted.”

He half-listened to the group’s replies as he speed-walked to the elevators after Yosuke. His partner had put on his headphones and was clearly upset, so Yu would definitely have to work to catch up to him. Still, he didn’t want Yosuke to be all alone with his troubled thoughts, particularly since Yu’s own Persona was partly to blame. He thought he felt a slight stirring of satisfaction as he made up his mind. It seemed his resolve was met with general approval.

As expected, Yosuke had already left Junes and was a good ways down the road by the time Yu managed to catch up. Knowing Yosuke would have his music up loud enough to drown out his voice at this point, Yu set a hand on his partner’s shoulder, not bothering to call out to him.

Yosuke started and spun to face him. “Wha-- oh. Hey, partner.” Yosuke reached into his pocket to pause his music, but didn’t remove his headphones. Seemed he really _was_ uncomfortable about something.

“Hey. You alright, Yosuke?” Yu fell into step beside his friend.

“Never better,” huffed Yosuke bitterly. His mind seemed to catch up to what he’d said a moment later and he quickly backpedaled. “S-sorry, Yu. I dunno what’s gotten into me today. Usually I wouldn’t let Chie get to me like that…”

“I know.”

They fell into a more companionable silence as they walked. They’d reached the Samegawa floodplain by now, and Yu paused to look over the river, glittering beautifully in the orange haze of the late afternoon. He glanced back at Yosuke, who’d stopped as well, and jerked his head toward the river. Yosuke smiled a little and shrugged, starting toward the stairs at the same time as Yu. It was nice, having someone who understood him so well. Like Izanagi, words were often unnecessary with his partner.

Yosuke sat on one of the lower steps with a sigh, and Yu quietly lowered himself to sit nearby. He could feel Izanagi humming with satisfaction inside. His other Personas buzzed, but not in a chaotic way. They seemed to be indicating that he was headed in the right direction. Even so… Yu shifted awkwardly. He knew they needed to talk, but had no idea where to start.

Yosuke beat him to it.

“Yu, there’s... something I wanted to tell you…”

\----

He didn’t know what the heck it was Jiraiya wanted out of him. Sure, his headache had lessened since Yu joined him, but Yosuke was still in one hell of a mood. It was nice, though, how Yu never forced conversation, or pried too deeply if he didn’t think it would help. He just let Yosuke think. And then, down at the riverbank, he let Yosuke talk.

It turned out Yosuke had been keeping a lot more to himself than he’d realized. Jiraiya knew; of _course_ he knew. He literally _was_ all those bottled up thoughts and feelings. No wonder he’d been acting up, what with Yosuke’s shameful jealousy, his feelings of inadequacy, all of this _crap_ warring in his heart in spite of his genuine pride in the Investigation Team’s leader. They were supposed to be partners, _equals,_ but Yosuke always felt like he was far behind and beneath Yu in just about every regard.

And, as always, Yu quietly listened. He spoke only when he felt his input was needed, always knowing just what to say and when to say it. Yosuke laughed weakly.

“Hey, remember when I called you “special” that one time, up on the hill…?”

“Of course.”

“Well… I thought some more about it.” Jiraiya was cheering him on. “I think, out of everyone, I wanted to be acknowledged by _you_ the most.”

It felt like all these swirling emotions were reaching a fever pitch. It was like a Garudyne in his heart, in his head, and it was driving him crazy. Yosuke stood up, squaring his shoulders and turning to face Yu. “I… I want you to hit me! A nice, solid blow, just knock all this _crap_ right outta me!”

Yu looked taken aback. He stood up too, though confusion was plain on his face.

Yosuke looked down, trying to hide his embarrassed blush. “I want to be equal with you. We’re partners, but…”

Yu chuckled. “Me hitting you won’t make us equal.”

Yosuke squeezed his eyes shut, feeling like an idiot. “Dammit, just… just do this for me, okay?”

“Yosuke… don’t you think it would be more equal if we hit each other?”

It took a moment for Yosuke to process that. He looked up, meeting Yu’s eyes again. “Huh? B-but… I don’t have any reason to hit you.”

Yu just smirked. “C’mon. I bet it’ll make you feel better, at any rate.”

Hah. That’s Yu, all right. Yosuke couldn’t help but smile. “Hahaha… I guess you’re right. Okay, here I come, partner!”

\----

Generally, Yu liked to plan his days out in advance. That said, he always tried to leave room for the unexpected; you never knew what could come up. Case in point: the last thing he’d expected to do today as the sun began to set was to have a fistfight with his best friend at the Samegawa riverbank. And yet, here he was.

It wasn’t a long fight. They were both pretty hard hitters, and both were already exhausted from the TV world. Each got a few solid hits in before they finally collapsed side-by-side onto the soft grass, breathing heavily. Despite the new bruises and the residual ache from fighting in the TV, Yu had to admit he felt pretty good. It had been sort of fun, fighting Yosuke, letting all their emotions out in a way that no words could manage.

Beside him, Yosuke laughed out loud. “Man, you hit way too hard! I’m seeing some serious stars here, bro!”

He sounded more carefree than he had in a while. It was nice. Yu’s hand found Yosuke’s in the grass, and he gave it a squeeze. “We’ll always be partners, Yosuke. No matter what you may be feeling, we’re equals. I promise.”

His face heated up. He’d meant it as a simple comforting gesture, but… he knew how sensitive Yosuke was about this sort of thing. Damn, he should have thought about--

_‘Don’t you remember what I said earlier? Cast aside your expectations already. Trust your feelings. It’s about time you figured it out.’_

\----

Yosuke was sure his blush could give the setting sun a run for its money.

_‘Have we figured it out, yet?’_

“Sh-sh-shut up, Jiraiya--!” Yosuke hissed before he could stop himself. He realized he’d said it out loud, and his blush deepened. “U-uhh… I mean…”

“It’s okay,” said Yu. Wait… he sounded oddly nervous, too. What was going on?

_‘Are you really this blind? Me and Izanagi have been working_ all day _on this, dammit. Stop worrying about what other people think, already. I thought you’d learned that by now.’_

What other people think…?

...Oh.

Oh, huh.

Yosuke slowly sat up, gaze fixed firmly out over the river. He could feel Yu doing the same beside him through their linked hands. Wait, they were still holding hands? Why were they still holding hands?!

...On second thought, it didn’t feel half bad, so he decided not to make a big deal out of it.

“Um.” His voice cracked as he tried to speak. Yosuke cleared his throat and tried again. “Um, Yu?”

“Yeah…?”

“Uh…”

He blushed furiously. What was he supposed to say here? Unconsciously, his hand tightened its grip on Yu’s.

As usual, his partner managed to keep his relative cool in a situation where he had _no right_ to be this calm. “Huh. Did our Personas just out us?”

\----

_‘Congratulations, Narukami, you figured it out.’_

_‘Alright, alright, no need for sarcasm,’_ Yu retorted, though he couldn’t help but be amused.

Yosuke, as he’d expected, was at a loss for words. “Wh-- but... you, uh-- I’m not--!”

Yu gave his hand a squeeze and he quieted down. “I’m a little confused, too. But our Personas seem pretty convinced.” He finally tore his eyes away from the river to smile fondly at Yosuke. “This certainly would be one hell of a first date.”

Even with the deepening twilight making it difficult to see anything but harsh shades of blue, Yu could tell that Yosuke was blushing like crazy. He was too, admittedly, but he was a little better at keeping a handle on his emotions.

Still, something bugged him a little. He certainly wouldn’t be opposed to what their Personas were suggesting, but… Yosuke had always been _very insistent_ on this particular topic.

“Are you okay, Yosuke?” He coughed awkwardly. “Um, w-with this, I mean. I know you’re--”

“Uh,” Yosuke’s voice came out as a squeak. He coughed too, though Yu thought it might have been an excuse to hide his face. “Y-you know… thinking about it, I… I think if it’s _you_ …”

Yu couldn’t help but smile mischievously. “Should I be on guard for other men named Yu, then?”

Yosuke sputtered and shoved his side. “Gh-- You know what I meant, dammit!”

Despite his supposed irritation, Yosuke joined in with Yu’s laughter just a moment later.

When they calmed down, Yosuke’s expression was a lot more relaxed. Yu found he felt much better, too.

“Yeah. I think… with you, it doesn’t seem so weird. I mean, we’re already partners, right?”

“Right.”

This time it was Yosuke who joined their hands. Still a little awkward, but… it felt right. This was right.

\----

Yeah… If you’d told him a day ago he’d soon find himself holding hands in, like, actually a gay way with his best friend, Yosuke would probably have laughed in your face. Well, then again, with how it felt right now, maybe he wouldn’t have. He’d probably have blushed and furiously denied it and sparked a ton of rumors…

Gah, off track! Yosuke could feel Jiraiya snickering at his heavily derailed train of thought, but for a change his Persona didn’t feel the least bit malicious. In fact, he felt… really content. Well, so did Yosuke. Strangely enough.

The sun had dipped fully beyond the horizon by now, and the blue haze of twilight gave way to a gentler darkness. They should probably get home soon, but… Well, this was nice.

Almost without meaning to, Yosuke found himself leaning against Yu, his head resting on his partner’s shoulder. No wonder their Personas had been acting up. Now that he thought about it… Yosuke was pretty sure he’d felt this way for a while. He was just so deeply in denial that it hadn’t occurred to him to put a label to that feeling. Or he’d… just assumed he felt like that because Yu was his _partner_ , of _course_ he was special…

“Heh… We’ve been missing out, huh?” he found himself mumbling.

Yu made a quiet sound of agreement, and wrapped an arm around Yosuke’s shoulders. The unexpected, intimate contact sent a wave of electric warmth whizzing through Yosuke’s body, and he shivered.

“O-oh, sorry, was that--”

“No, no, that was… that’s fine.” Yosuke felt himself blushing again and tried to bury his face in Yu’s shoulder. “T-that was… nice.”

“Oh… okay. That’s… good.”

It was kind of funny, seeing Yu actually getting awkward about something. So, it _was_ possible! Yosuke couldn’t help but feel a little bit proud that he was the one who could shake Yu’s composure like this. Yu’s arm settled more comfortably around Yosuke’s shoulders, and Yosuke hesitantly slid one of his own arms around Yu’s back. He felt his partner jump a little, but he soon settled down.

If he was honest… Yosuke kind of wanted to stay like this all night. It was mild out, and there was just enough light from the moon tonight for them to see. The river flowed lazily in front of them, the gentle sound of the water soothing their still slightly frayed nerves. Yosuke reached his free hand out to find Yu’s and their joined hands ended up resting comfortably in his partner’s lap. Yosuke unconsciously started tracing little circles in the back of Yu’s hand with his thumb, drawing a contented hum from his friend.

It was a shame they were expected back at their homes… He wouldn’t mind falling asleep here. In his partner’s arms. _So_ homo.

Yosuke suddenly felt something within him stir. No, not stir… _change_. He sat up, and Yu looked at him in surprise. Yosuke’s gaze drifted to the sky, where he thought he could just barely make out the outline of his Persona. Was he just seeing things?

Even as he stared, though, the vague image changed. The familiar outline of Jiraiya stretched, shifted, _evolved_ …

Woah.

“Is this…” Yosuke breathed. “My power…?”

The shape slowly faded, and Yosuke felt within him the new form his power took. He closed his eyes, letting out a slow breath. “Susano-o…”

_‘I am thou, and thou art I, bitch. Like it or not.’_

Yosuke smiled and looked his partner-- his boyfriend?-- in the eye. _‘I wouldn’t have it any other way. Asshole.’_

\----

“Hah! That’s 1000 yen for me, Chie!”

“Whaaat? Aw man, I was so sure, too.”

Yu and Yosuke looked on bemusedly as Rise claimed her prize from a reluctant Chie. Evidently, their romantic tension had been achingly obvious to just about everyone but them. Some of the team had been _taking_ _bets_ on whether they’d get together. Yosuke would probably never live down all his prior teasing of Kanji. Regardless, their big reveal ended up less a “reveal” and more an “it’s about damn time” for the rest of the Investigation Team.

Still, the new couple couldn’t help but laugh about it. It had taken their own inner selves egging them on to finally get through to them. How silly was that? Sure, it would take some getting used to, but they both decided that they were more than willing to try.

Behind them, invisible in this real world, Izanagi and Susano-o fistbumped.

**Author's Note:**

> So, this was a blast to write. I figured it was pretty inevitable that I'd eventually add to the towering pile of Souyo on this site, and I'm pleased to say I think mine is a worthy addition.
> 
> For a little bit of headcanon clarification, I actually see Yosuke as generally straight, but demisexual when it comes to guys. I've seen this headcanon floated around, and for me it feels pretty much right for the character. That's the way I wrote him here, but obviously it doesn't matter too much in the long run! As long as our good good gay boys can be gay, at the end of the day.
> 
> Writing the Personas as separate entities was also way too much fun. With Jiraiya I went for a sort of fusion of Yosuke's shadow and the more brash aspects of Yosuke's own personality. What I ended up with was a childish sassmaster that let me finally realize my dream of actually including "I know you are, but what am I" in actual context in a 100% serious fic. I am so proud. I'd love to write more stuff in this vein one of these days.
> 
> Also of note? I did not set out with the intention of using Yosuke's rank 10 s-link. But sometimes writing is a series of happy accidents, and that may be the happiest one I've come across yet. The story flowed perfectly in that direction, and the event framed exactly what I wanted to happen in a way that totally kicked ass.


End file.
